My opinion of the Bright Hollow-defenses was not improved when Dura Firebringer guided me through the gate. If looked at from an ordinary perspective the gate was sturdy, solid wood with a thick locking-bar visible on the insight, but if I considered if from the perspective of potential threats I had already seen on Mundus, I was not impressed, especially when I took a short glance through Lenore’s eyes, using her special sight to check for magic. Simply put, neither the gate nor the wall, and certainly not any parts connecting the two, had any magic on them, making me confident that each member of my party would be able to either circumvent or, in Sigmir’s case, simply crush the gate, without being seriously slowed down.

I tried to keep myself from showing what I thought about their defenses, while we were following our guide into the town itself. The town looked quite well-made, the building-style simple but sturdy and the houses seemed to be constructed from the light-grey rock and wood from the nearby forest.

While I was studying what I could see of the town, Dura Firebringer had thanked her troops for their service, told those who had been wounded to check in with the healers and ordered a couple of her officers to take care of the loot. After a momentary glance to her, just to make sure we hadn’t been forgotten about, I continued to observe the town.

There seemed to be a strange combination of interest towards our group, which I had expected given that the locals must have been aware of the mission the orc-troop had been on, and hesitation, which I didn’t understand. The orcs in town should be delighted to see that many of their tribes-people back, but the atmosphere would have felt more appropriate for a funeral. Not quite sure how to deal with the strange attitude of the people, I focused on the building, deciding that Adra could deal with the locals, once again.

Looking at the buildings a little closer, I realised something I hadn’t twigged on before, something I would take for granted on Earth, but on Mundus, it was a curiosity. The houses had windows made from clear glass, all of them, making my eyes widen in surprise.

Dura Firebringer must have noticed my surprise and spoke up. “The bright Glass my tribe makes is famous far and wide. I’m certain the centaurs would have loved to steal it but even with magical bags, it is difficult to transport the glass without shattering it. Not that they ever had the chance to get into our town.” she explained, expressing her disdain towards the centaurs with a snort at the end.

“Certainly, it looks impressively clear.” I admitted, meaning it. The only glass I had seen on Mundus that could keep up with it was the glass used in Neyto and, given what I had seen of the place, I had no doubt that they used magic for their manufacture. Not that I could tell whether the orcs did the same, or if they had some other process, but just producing anything on par with the product of Neyto was quite the accomplishment, in my eyes.

“That it is. Merchants come from far away, making the arduous journey from the ancient road to our town, to buy the glass we produce. It is sold far and wide, one merchant even claimed he was planning to sell it to the Nagas, for shipping across the sea.” Dura Firebringer explained proudly.

“Are you part of that process?” Sigmir asked, one of her eyebrows raised and I thought I heard a bit of mockery in her voice.

There was a momentary blush on the orc’s cheeks, gone as fast as it appeared, before she replied. “I have helped in the process.” she simply stated, before very deliberately focusing on the house we were walking towards.

“Anyway, if you don’t object, I was planning to ask one of our house-mistresses to shelter and feed you for your stay. Normally, they provide housing for our hunting-parties in the summer, so that they have a well-kept place when they rest in the valley between their trips.” she explained, her voice stumbling in the beginning, just a little. I noticed Sigmir opening her mouth, maybe to needle our host some more, over the last few days she had done so a few times, and cut in.

“And in the winter they have their own places?” I asked, simply to keep the topic on something relatively safe and hopefully harmless. The blush suddenly covering the orc’s face made me think again but there was nothing I could do about it.

“Yes, they have. Most young adults pair up during the Harvest-Festival, to prepare for the winter.” she muttered, just loud enough to be audible, and I suddenly got what she meant, my own cheeks colouring, just a little.

An awkward silence hung over our group, even if I directed a short shake of my head towards Sigmir, not wanting to linger on that particular topic.

Luckily, our destination was nearby and Dura Firebringer opened the door, stepping inside while keeping it open for us. I let Adra go first, simply so I had the opportunity to hide the others and wouldn’t necessarily be dragged into conversations. I had enjoyed talking to the shaman but during the last evening, our talks had slowly turned into a chore. I was about ready to return to comfortable silence between Sigmir and me, and the rich, mental discussions I had with Lenore. Speech was just too limited at times, too limited to bother with. It was those times that made me long for someone who could understand me like those two, only in the real World.

As sudden as that thought appeared, I pushed it away, forcefully, not wanting to let it transfer to either Lenore or Sigmir. Not that I thought the connection to Sigmir would allow the transfer of formulated thoughts that easy, but even having Lenore feel slighted by such a careless thought was something I wanted to avoid.

Instead, I focused on the female orc that stood in front of Dura Firebringer, her face scrunched up into a displeased, frowning face.

“So, the Firebringer returns.” she grumbled, her eyes roaming over our group. “And who are those? You couldn’t bring your people home, but you brought some strangers?” she continued, her voice almost a snarl.

“What hospitality.” I heard Sigmir mutter, right next to me, causing me to look over, an eyebrow raised. She had been a little annoyed those last few days, making me a little concerned.

“We lost few warriors and managed to recover all who’ve been taken. If anyone thinks they could have done better, I invite them to challenge me, not to mutter behind my back, like cowards.” Dura Firebringer growled back, her voice angry and hard. Even the fiery aura she was always surrounded by flared, forcing me to magically push back, or get swept up by it.

“And who could speak sensibly anyways?! Not like anyone knew about our results, we haven’t been back for more than a few minutes!” she continued, her aura flaring even stronger, forcing me to link with Lenore to comfortably push back.

“Calm yourself!” a voice snarled and I needed a moment to realise that I had spoken and the mist I normally used to keep myself cool was swirling towards the orc shaman, the conflux between our powers causing the air to vibrate with power. I felt a surge of heat flow towards me, pushed out by my power causing me to snarl, unable to muster enough power in the moment needed to stop it.

The heat smacked me into the face, causing me to stumble in discomfort. Luckily, it wasn’t hot enough to burn me but I felt like my face was being steam-cooked, while sweat was pouring out. I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to enjoy steamed veggies again, the thought both amusing but also very much annoying.

I felt Sigmir’s arm steady me, allowing me to shake my head, clearing away some of the discomfort and letting me see clearly again. Clear enough to realise that Dura Firebringer looked quite ashamed, as she should, just like the housekeeper did.

“I…” the housekeeper began, her voice suddenly meek, before she cleared her throat and continued. “I apologize. There was talk in the town that you eradicated the centaurs but that it was at the cost of those they took.” she explained, her eyes flicking between Dura Firebringer and myself, maybe due to the sudden eruption of mist in her front-hall.

“The rumors are false.” Dura Firebringer replied, some anger still in her voice but clearly controlled.

“We will talk about that later. For now, I will ask you to take care of these Guests, they are here on my personal invitation. Treat them as such!” she added, the last sentence spoken as a clear command, which got a nod from the housekeeper.

“I will leave you here, and clear up this mess.” Dura Firebringer told us, before looking directly at me.

“Thank you, for helping me calm down.” she said, gratitude obvious in her voice.

With that, she squeezed past us, leaving before anyone could get in a word edgewise.